Eroica Trio - Brahms: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2 / Wiegenlied & Hungarian Dance No. 6 (2002)

The Eroica Trio's recording career has been cleverly managed, starting with three albums of relatively lightweight, very well played music before finally arriving at major repertory. Tackling these two Brahms masterpieces, the Eroica proves thoroughly up to the task. They handle Brahms's difficult writing with confidence (especially the tricky syncopations), and they can produce large climaxes to compete with the best ensembles. They also capture the rapt, inward quality of Brahms's slow movements (the third of the First Trio, the second of the Second Trio) in a most moving manner, trusting the listeners' attention to hear the meaning in such subtle music. Even the packaging of this disc is more subdued than on previous Eroica CDs, although the group's characteristic poplike liveliness comes out in the charming encores. In discussing Brahms Trio recordings, one has to mention one of the best buys in the current CD catalog, a three-disc set with all the Brahms Trios and three other romantic masterpieces superbly played by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. But for excellent performances of these two trios, the Eroica CD is certainly worth considering. -- Leslie Gerber